What are some tips for safer networking?

A:

Quick Answer

Tips for safe computer networking include patching as soon as possible to avoid vulnerabilities, installing protective software such as an antivirus or Internet security program, and creating strong, alphanumeric passwords mixed with special characters. Backup and redundancy are also important to prevent data loss.

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Restricting access to network terminals is also important. Network security protocols are meaningless when people leave their computers unattended in public places. Computers should be configured to lock themselves after a certain duration of inactivity. Learning to identify phishing sites can prevent valuable information from being unknowingly offered to malicious sources. Making sure that a website is using HTTPS instead of HTTP and checking whether the trademark date of the website is up to date are two ways to confirm legitimacy. File and printer sharing should be turned off by default and turned on as needed to prevent unnecessary vulnerabilities. Firewalls need to be properly configured to allow only certain safe ports access to the Internet. Connections to the Internet should be done via a virtual network to make it more difficult to trace the source. Hardware default settings such as router service set identifiers and passwords need to be changed to something strong and unique. Finally, guests should be given a different password that restricts their access to the network.